Cockburn Street, Edinburgh, Scotland Superthread

[Alisaura]

I don't know how much those tourist boats cost on the Yarra, but I'm guessing it's not practical for commuters. And you wouldn't want to accidentally find yourself on a stripper boat with a bunch of hen's parties. (Never again. *shudder*)

So, Vermont South is part of civilisation?

 

[Alisaura]

Sadly, they're just a novelty

I assumed from the profusion of dotted blue lines on google maps, that ferries went all over the place, which makes sense considering the geography of the city. I understand there will be special ferry services to Glebe Island on the weekend I'm there, since there normally aren't, and there will be a lot of geeks (including me) going there for Oz Comic Con. So I'm hoping to see a lot of stormtroopers on a ferry!

I'm also sad that they killed the monorail before I got a chance to try it.

 

[Axver]

I'm having a bit of a laugh, yeah.

Sydney's system has pretty decent coverage considering the size of the city, but has poor frequency of services on the outer edges, poor implementation of services within the CBD (TOO MANY FUCKS IN CARS), and inconsistent arrivals all over.

Yeah, I'd say Sydney has the best suburban railway network in the Southern Hemisphere. It's just such a shame it's not really complemented by much else - no trams any more (well except for that one light rail line that needs to be turned into a network in a hurry), far far too many roads, and too much use of buses in situations where other modes of transport would be more appropriate.

Both Sydney and Melbourne (well, and all other cities down here) really need to do something about the alarming lack of cross-suburban services. What the hell is up with these radial public transport networks, designed as if everybody only wants to travel from their outer suburb into the city. Heaven forbid you want to go from one suburb to another without having to transfer in the CBD.

 

[Alisaura]

I'm sure I've told you about that time I tried to get from Clayton (south-east) to Bundoora (north) by PT. It wasn't pretty.

 

[Axver]

I don't know how much those tourist boats cost on the Yarra, but I'm guessing it's not practical for commuters. And you wouldn't want to accidentally find yourself on a stripper boat with a bunch of hen's parties. (Never again. *shudder*)

So, Vermont South is part of civilisation?

Haha. I think there are a couple of commuter ferries from Docklands to places like Williamstown? But they certainly aren't big news or a significant mode of transport. I don't get why we don't have a proper network of them on the Yarra from Docklands through the city to say Hawthorn - the river's perfectly navigable, and Brisbane proves that a river looping a lot is no impediment to a good ferry commuter service. But I guess maybe the reason why we don't have them is that there are sufficient trams and trains that ferries are unnecessary or wouldn't be competitive.

And yes, Vermont South is technically part of civilisation. Same goes for Bundoora.

I'm also sad that they killed the monorail before I got a chance to try it.

We didn't go on it in 2010 when we were there for Crowded House?

I did it at least a couple of times in 2008-10, and I'm pretty sure Mum took me on it when I was a little kid in 1990.

 

[Axver]

I'm sure I've told you about that time I tried to get from Clayton (south-east) to Bundoora (north) by PT. It wasn't pretty.

It's moronic that I can walk home from Fitzroy to Brunswick in only a little more time than it can take to catch a tram. Hell, cop some really bad connections and it's possible for walking to be quicker.

 

[Alisaura]

And yes, Vermont South is technically part of civilisation. Same goes for Bundoora.

We didn't go on it in 2010 when we were there for Crowded House?

I challenge you to visit the Vermont South shopping centre and maintain that opinion.

I don't think so, did we? Mostly what I remember about that trip is walking a lot, and breakfast on Oxford street. (And the concert was quite good, too. And did we go to the aquarium?)

 

[liamcool]

The light rail line is intended to relieve pressure off buses, however. Which is fucking maddening, but...

 

[Axver]

I challenge you to visit the Vermont South shopping centre and maintain that opinion.

I don't think so, did we? Mostly what I remember about that trip is walking a lot, and breakfast on Oxford street. (And the concert was quite good, too. And did we go to the aquarium?)

I challenge myself to visit Vermont South. Is there anything there of interest whatsoever?

Oh man I remember being very very hungover on that trip and getting a pile of bacon and sausages for breakfast. And yes we did the aquarium after an overly lengthy walk! Perhaps we ran out of time to do the monorail? I know I went on it that year but it must've been on a different trip.

The light rail line is intended to relieve pressure off buses, however. Which is fucking maddening, but...

The light rail would be a far more attractive option if it didn't do that stupid fucking loop, and if it went straight into the city. It's stupid how long plans have been afoot to put the light rail right into the CBD. I'm not holding my breath that it'll happen soon.

 

[bono_212]

Axver... you have this...right? RIGHT?!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ij7IhanQhLU

 

[Axver]

If I don't get that for Christmas this year I will be VERY cross.

 

[The Sad Punk]

Cities where you don't need a car.

Hobart sorts its own problems out - everything's so bloody close, you might as well walk.

Wish I could say the same for Adelaide, which is needlessly stretched out for many more miles than it should be. At least the expressway goes two directions simultaneously now.

 

[Vlad n U 2]

It takes me 50 minutes to get into the CBD. There are a lot of areas in the Adelaide CBD that can be redeveloped into higher density residential, half of the CBD feels like any typical inner city suburb.

 

[The Sad Punk]

No kidding, there really needs to be higher density around Unley, Kent town, Thebarton and the like. I'm in the southend of the CBD a lot now and it strikes me as a nice place to live, but not a nice place to, y'know, do things at. Some nice restaurants and pubs but not much else. Thinking of moving somewhere along the tram line next year if stuff works out, petrol's been nice for the last fortnight but it's still a drag. How far out in the hills are you?

 

[Vlad n U 2]

There's at least been development around King William and South Terrace, I know a new 80-90m (Melbourne and Sydney people scoff) building is about to be built next to that Optus building which was all alone by itself for many years. I think even the nothingness of Whitmore Square is getting some changes too soon. And not to mention some higher density living going up in Bowden now. I get all this from lurking on Sensational Adelaide.

I'm around the Blackwood area, very nice, pretty hilly.

 

[bono_212]

If I don't get that for Christmas this year I will be VERY cross.

Travis told me not to even show it to you, lol, he's like, just send it to him for Christmas with no warning.

It's so intense! Who thought to themselves, "the world needs a turbo monorail racing set with loops?" and then who was the guy that said , "I'll only allow it is it glows in the dark."?!

 

[Axver]

It amazes me how hostile some people are to increased density. Now, concrete jungles are deeply unattractive and undesirable, but so is suburban sprawl and we need to find a proper balance. Look at how far Sydney and Melbourne sprawl. It's unacceptable - it's a waste of prime farmland, it creates unjustifiably massive commutes, and it's staggeringly inefficient in both environmental and economic senses. I'm all for more inner and mid suburban medium density in our cities, but it has to be done with sensitivity and with adequate provision of services. There's a proposal right now, for instance, to whack some massive towers in Moonee Ponds as part of redevelopments of the Moonee Valley horse racing track and I'm totally against it until they explain how they plan to provide sufficient public transportation (on already overcrowded routes) and space on local roads for the hundreds of new residents.

And I'm still amused/baffled by that Adelaide highway that used to go only one way at a time.

Travis told me not to even show it to you, lol, he's like, just send it to him for Christmas with no warning.

You would've been able to hear me exclaim with surprise all the way from your side of the Pacific.

It's so intense! Who thought to themselves, "the world needs a turbo monorail racing set with loops?" and then who was the guy that said , "I'll only allow it is it glows in the dark."?!

ME.

I should totally design toys. It would be crazy shit.

IT TRAVELS IN SCALE BEYOND THE SPEED OF SOUND.

 

[The Sad Punk]

There's at least been development around King William and South Terrace, I know a new 80-90m (Melbourne and Sydney people scoff) building is about to be built next to that Optus building which was all alone by itself for many years. I think even the nothingness of Whitmore Square is getting some changes too soon. And not to mention some higher density living going up in Bowden now. I get all this from lurking on Sensational Adelaide.

I'm around the Blackwood area, very nice, pretty hilly.

Ah, that's all good to hear - used to lurk Sensational Adelaide a fair bit, I hope that approved skyscraper on Currie St is still going ahead, think it'll be the second biggest. Pretty excited for Bowden and the surrounds, hope they don't become completely gentrified and maintain some character.

Love Blackwood, shame about the distance from town but at least it's got nice surrounds. You bus in?

 

[The Sad Punk]

It amazes me how hostile some people are to increased density. Now, concrete jungles are deeply unattractive and undesirable, but so is suburban sprawl and we need to find a proper balance. Look at how far Sydney and Melbourne sprawl. It's unacceptable - it's a waste of prime farmland, it creates unjustifiably massive commutes, and it's staggeringly inefficient in both environmental and economic senses.

Right - projects may be unsightly, but inner suburbs with density are pretty much the best places in Melbourne and Sydney, so I have no idea why we should be afraid of them in this country. By all logic, the dream of every family in a three bedroom house with a backyard should have died a long time ago, but our cities are still expanding. I'm always immensely surprised when I see the scale of cities in North America compared to ours, especially considering it's another continent with vast open natural spaces.

 

[Vlad n U 2]

Ah, that's all good to hear - used to lurk Sensational Adelaide a fair bit, I hope that approved skyscraper on Currie St is still going ahead, think it'll be the second biggest. Pretty excited for Bowden and the surrounds, hope they don't become completely gentrified and maintain some character.

Love Blackwood, shame about the distance from town but at least it's got nice surrounds. You bus in?

I hope that they don't end up scaling the size down, as they almost usually do in Adelaide. But yeah, there's a lot of construction going on which is pretty exciting. The skate park on North Terrace across from my uni is about to be taken down and replaced with an Adelaide Uni medical building thing and suddenly the West End is starting to gain a lot of life.

I take the train, the train itself is about half an hour, about a 20 minute walk from home to get to the station.

 

[The Sad Punk]

Yeah, that's pretty much what I've been expecting since I first heard about the building. There are so many great new places in the West End and around the way that I haven't checked out yet, another reason why I'm so glad there's footy in the city now.

Still not sure what they're doing at Vic Square/Tarndanyangga - seems like there was lots of stuff planned, including a Kaurna cultural centre but it just seems to have just... stopped. Looks alright, but doesn't seem like a massive change to where it was at right now.

 

[The Sad Punk]

............................................. mm ZMN 09]\'

my cat wrote this I think she has a message

 

[cobl04]

- a half-mile walk to a car? fuck that. that isn't a first-world problem. that's fucked.
- melbourne's public transport might be better than elsewhere in australia, i dunno, but it still fucking sucks. you wanna go east-west or vice versa in the inner north? GO FUCK YOURSELF.
- la traffic and public transport sucks.

 

[bono_212]

- a half-mile walk to a car? fuck that. that isn't a first-world problem. that's fucked.
- melbourne's public transport might be better than elsewhere in australia, i dunno, but it still fucking sucks. you wanna go east-west or vice versa in the inner north? GO FUCK YOURSELF.
- la traffic and public transport sucks.

It's not like that every day, just on days when I don't get home immediately after I get off work. So, by staying an hour and a half after for the office fantasy football draft, I ended up paying for it by a really shitty parking spot. It could be worse, though. I could live in Chicago, which has practically no on-street parking (but if I lived in Chicago, I wouldn't need the second car, cause superior public transport >_>)

LA Traffic and public transport really do suck. HOWEVER, I've easily learned to live with it in the few months I've been here.


Also: IT'S SEPTEMBER!!!!

 

[liamcool]

Let's see how many fanboys bitch at this one...

 

[Axver]

............................................. mm ZMN 09]\'

my cat wrote this I think she has a message

Most profound post of the thread right here.

 

[djerdap]

That post has more intelligence and wit to it than the entirety of EYKIW.

 

[bono_212]

Guys. Guys....what is up?

 

[Axver]

Given the way that people on EYKIW manage to conjure certain U2 performances out of nothing - the iTunes Festival thing, the Apple launch, that video shoot in Dublin - I'm starting to think of how easy it would be to suck these people into something. Just start planting hints about a mystery Irish band headlining an obscure festival or something.

Watch them shit themselves when it turns out to be God Is An Astronaut at a post-rock festival.

Or maybe U2 will just Save the Whalers again, who knows. I swear to god EYKIW has got more gullible, not less, in the intervening six and a half years.

 

[liamcool]

Y'know, they'd never expect it...again...